One of the more touted and delayed XBox games in history finally gets released in the form of Brute Force. Claimed as being a cross between Halo and team tactical combat Brute Force promised to be one of the break through titles for Microsoft’s gaming console system. You get to take control of any one of four highly specialized super-commandos in the action-packed sci-fi, squad-based shooter game and the first Xbox title from developer Digital Anvil.

Brute Force claims to let gamers experience the intensity of a shooter game with the cunning strategies of team-based tactical combat. Through the campaign you can go through six worlds in the extensive single-player campaign, or play co-operatively with up to three friends via split-screen or System Link. Battle it out in a multitude of competitive death-match modes with up to eight players, and download new content, including campaigns, mission and maps to keep the game fresh for incredible replayability.

Gameplay

One thing I wanted to do is not compare this game to Halo (which has sold over 3 million copies). It wouldn’t be fair to Digital Anvil or the game to compare it to one of the best console games of all time. The controls are faily solid, but perhaps a little archaic compared to other 3rd person shooters built to date. That said, the game is quite fun when played in the campaign mode (easily the highlight of the title itself). The storyline blends in with the gameplay extremely well and the ability to control 4 unique characters with their own abilities and strengths makes the game quite fun – especially when you’re caught in sticky situations.

Graphics

Undoubtedly this title does the XBox justice when it comes to graphics. Although not as flashy as what we saw with the upcoming “Ghost” title from Blizzard, Brute Force has some amazing special effects and worlds that will dazzle those amused by graphics. It might be missing a “wow factor” that we’re used to from XBox, but I think that’s more of a result of us seeing fantastic titles month in and month out. Overall however, the graphics of the game Brute Force are amongst the better we’ve seen on any console game.

Sound

The sound is definitely one of the highlights of the titles. Special care was given for the surround sound special effects and the breadth of the sounds used in the game for voices, explosions, gun fire, and ambiant sounds for the different world. Sound is definitely one thing that is surely lacking in quality these days, and it’s good that Digital Anvil is a company that prides itself on sight and sound. Those of you with surround sound speaker systems – rejoice!

Longevity

The campaign offers some fun and good missions that should take up a lot of your gaming time. The offering of a death-match and other modes give the longevity of this product a fair shake, but what has everyone talking is the ability to download new content such as missions and entire campaigns free off of XBox Live. This gives the product an indefinite amount of longevity – a fantastic feature that should have fans of the game as well as anyone interested in lengthening their gaming dollar.

Overall Impressions

Brute Force is a fun game – flat out. It’s not “the best game ever” like some people were expecting, but on it’s own merit Brute Force is a great title worth of an Xbox owner’s home. The graphics are great, the sound is awesome, and there’s a nice storyline that sucks you right it once you start playing. The best feature of this game is really the one yet to come – the downloadable content that should extend the playing life of the game for months to come.

Playing through this game I was really pleased that there’s a decent Sci-Fi 3rd person tactical combat game out on the market. As great as the Tom Clancy games are, lets face it – there’s a bazillion type of games like it on the market. Brute Force offers a nice difference in the genre in the realm of storyline, sound, and extra content. I highly suggest at least renting the title to give it a run, but those of you looking for a good SciFi shooter will be pleased with Brute Force.

Sean Gibson has been the owner and Executive Editor of Gaming Illustrated for over eleven years. His roles include acting as CEO and President of Gaming Illustrated, LLC and also includes being a reviewer, previewer and interviewer. Sean's opinions on this site do not reflect those of his full-time employer.